timing mark

[fryedaddy]

i pulled my ngk plugs out,been getting some popping out the exhaust.i have my timing set on my msd dist. at 33 degree,[bbm heads},as suggested by forum members.i noticed my timing mark is near the tip of the plug,only 1/8- 3/16 from the tip.timing charts shows 2-4 degree too little. what should i do,leave it at 33 or bump it up a couple degree as the pointer could be showing wrong,but its been ok in the past,till i changed ignitions.

[GerryP]

You want it centered, more or less, on the ground strap.  That is usually a pretty good indicator of how the engine is reacting to timing.  The goal of a tune up is to give the engine what it's telling you it wants.

[Stangman]

I have heard changing ignitions could make timing change. Had my motor dyno Ed and when I checked timing it was 3 to 4 degrees less.

[Jb427]

This may sound silly but have you checked that your getting full 12v to your msd

Just had a friends cleveland swap from points to a rtr msd it was poping and banging and it was just not getting 12v fixed that and runs great now.

[Joe-JDC]

Whenever you change MSD ignition boxes(6AL/2) your timing will be different by as much as 4* or so.  I found this out during a dyno session on my EMC engine.  Different 6ALs have different timing.  You may need to re-establish top dead center and 0 on the damper.  Joe-JDC

[fryedaddy]

it had a msd pro billet dist but i put a gm module on it when my last msd box failed

[fryedaddy]

put a new set of ngks in it and it quit popping,i had cold plugs in it , too cold,i went 1 step hotter this time.i had bought some colder plugs for nitrous,but i went too far.pretty sure that was the problem,but i will check my connections and make sure im getting 12 volts,and a good ground.